Lyn Shepherd has stirred up a lot of comment with her article in the Huffington Post She was happy for J K Rowling ‘Pottering about” but feels the massive publicity about her adult books ”sucked the oxygen from the entire publishing and reading atmosphere.” She finishes ”By all means keep writing for kids, or for your personal pleasure… but when it comes to the adult market you’ve had your turn….it’s time to give other writers, and other writing, room to breathe.”

I think that Lyn is mistaken. Firstly there is plenty of room for all sorts of books and writers in the market. Yes, it is easy for JKR to get publicity for anything she writes but but libraries, bookshops and publishers promote large ranges of books by popular and new authors and know that people who are tempted…

Looking over the selection of books for World Book Night 2014 and I came across my beloved Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. A little swell of happiness welled up in my heart and my want to read further into the second book has increased.

You are probably getting sick of seeing this book on my blog but it was a great read and the second one goes even further into the story of PC Grant. By my own admission the story is quite hard to believe but really does get you hooked in to the point that you just have to know what happens next.

There are also other books included in the WBN list which have at some point taken my interest however I am yet to read. Out of the 20 books selected my favourites are shown below:

Darquesse will be gracing the back cover of the paperback version of LSoDM!

Landy revealed the back cover art yesterday on his blog with a release date of the 27th March for the paperback. He has also said that the paperback version of The Maleficent Seven will be released on the 8th May, despite happening before LSoDM.

Clara and the new Doctor are getting a new friend to join them in the TARDIS. BBC News are reporting that Samuel Anderson, who has previously appeared in Gavin & Stacey and Emmerdale, will play Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School with Clara. Little is known about Anderson’s character but Anderson himself has said:

“I was so excited to join Doctor Who, I wanted to jump and click my heels but I was scared I might not come down before filming started. It’s a quintessential part of British culture and I can’t believe I’m part of it. It’s an honour to be able to work alongside Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman and I can’t wait to show people how my character becomes involved with such a fantastic duo.”

In order to write creatively, we need to exercise our free-spirited and impulsive right brain. It might take a while to “liberate” this side of the brain especially if we have worked in fields that are linear, concrete, and require rationale thought. This is what happened to me many years ago when I switched from a career in teaching and publishing to full-time writing. As I began my apprenticeship in the creative arts, I had to dispel several myths about the writing process and writers.

There is an element of truth to this! Writers (and other creative people) must be willing to look below the surface of everyday life and explore the world and relationships like a curious outsider. This perspective sets us apart, but at the same time, it allows us…